NBA

Kevin Durant is coming off his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP and sweep of Cleveland. He has announced that he’ll be staying with the Warriors for the foreseeable future. After being one of the few players in recent memory who could challenge the all-time scoring mark held by Kareem might not happen. He has scored 20,913 career points and Kareem mark is 38,387. Kevin Durant, who turns 30 in September is considered calling it quits when he turns 35.

“This game, your craft, you have to continue studying it,” said Durant. “No matter how much you enjoy it, nobody wants to be in school that long. I know I don’t. At some point, you have to be ready to graduate. Thirty-five, that’s just a number in my mind.” Rich Kleiman, Durant’s business partner, said Durant had previously shared with him that he might walk away at 35. “I heard him say that, but I’ll believe it when it happens,” Kleiman said.

Durant explained why he’s not chasing the mark.

“Because it’s not about [the record],” Durant said. “I can leave the game knowing I did everything I wanted to do, my way, on my terms. That’s how I want to leave the game. And if I happen to have all these accolades and these accomplishments, then that’s cool. If not, I’m still cool.

“So I don’t think that’s going to define me as a player. It’s a cool accomplishment to be up there with the greats and to be considered someone who can potentially chase that, or beat that, but I’m not playing for that.”

Considered a basketball lifer, Durant had aspirations to be a professional basketball player since he was 8 years old. Although it has consumed most of his life, he said if he does retire at 35, he’ll be at peace with where he stands in history.

“Especially if I continue to approach the game the right way every day like I’ve been doing, hell yeah. Hell yeah I can move on,” he said. “No matter how many points I score, no matter how many people I pass up, no matter how many points I leave on the table, my legacy, as we always like to talk about, I can go up and ask any person who has ever seen me play and they’ll have a different way of viewing my game. So it’s hard for me to go out there and play for that type of stuff because it changes through so many people. So many groups of people probably view my game differently. So, it’s hard for me to focus on that.

“But I will focus on the people that love me the most, that encourage me, that pour into me and vice versa. I value what they say and how they feel about me more so than anything because that’s who I really went through this journey with, those people. That’s what my legacy lies in. I know they’re going to view it as a perfect career no matter what.”

Do you envision Durant retiring in 5 years? Do you see him finishing his career in a Golden State uniform? Will he go down as one of the all-time greats? Leave a comment below about this situation or anything related to Durant.

Well that didn’t go as planned, at least from my perspective. Coming into this game, my thinking was Cleveland would give the Warriors everything they had and then some. With that, they’d walk away with the victory and head back to Oakland down 3-1. My question was, will Golden State sweep Cleveland and my answer was no. Golden State jumped on Cleveland from the start, but the Cavs made a run and even took the lead. Afterwards, Golden State answered with a run on their own and Steph Curry was on fire pretty much all night. Steph Curry rebounded from an awful 11-point performance in Game 3 to finish with 37 points in the finale. Klay Thompson didn’t score in the first half, but he came alive in the 3rd quarter scoring 10 points. Kevin Durant finished with 20 points, 12 boards and 10 assists to capture the Finals MVP.

Now that the Warriors are once again NBA champions, what’s next for them? We all know that Kevin Durant has stated he’ll re-sign with the Warriors this offseason. Klay Thompson can sign an extension this summer, but it’s more likely he’ll eventually hit free agency next summer. Klay has said he’d take a huge discount to stay with this team, but how much of a discount? This could be something to pay attention to because the Warriors can’t pay all their stars the money they deserve. Afterwards, the Warriors will have to turn their attention Draymond Green. For me, he’s the heart and soul of this team as his presence is felt throughout the team. After Klay, Draymond is eligible to sign a $225 million dollar, 5-year extension next summer if he makes the All-NBA team. With Curry signing his $201 million-dollar extension last year, changes will be made. Congrats to the Golden State Warriors 2018 NBA Champs

I’ll have more about the Warriors and their future later, but for now congrats to them. Also, with the impending free agency of Lebron James, what will his and the Cavs future hold.

I’ll admit that I was wrong about Game 3 between the Cavs and Warriors. Cleveland came out fighting and we got a Rodney Hood sighting in the process. Rodney Hood chipped in 15 points off the bench as he was aggressive on both sides of the ball. Kevin Durant went off as he finished with 43 points, 13 boards and 7 dimes that included him hitting 3s from over 30-feet. Once again, Lebron James finished with a triple-double in a losing effort. Steph Curry came into Game 3 in the conversation of NBA Finals, but finished with 11 points while hitting only one 3-pointer. The big news coming into Game 4 is Kevin Durant confirming he’ll re-sign with the Warriors during the offseason. Coming into Game 4, will Cleveland put up a fight to send the series back to Golden State? Can the Warriors finish off the Cavs tonight?

Can the Cavs win Game 4 to avoid being swept? Of course, they can, but will they? Lebron James is still the best player on the planet, but the way he runs the team isn’t good for them. Guys like Rodney Hood, Kevin Love and Jeff Green are better when they’re aggressive. During Game 3, Rodney Hood didn’t rely on being behind the 3-point line but taking the ball to his defender. Kevin Love has always been that player to play on the block and get his points that way. Jeff Green can score when given the chance, but playing with Lebron, they all must change up their games. With those guys playing the way they do, Lebron can still get his numbers but in a different way. Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith will have to hit shots along with George Hill, which can be done.

For Golden State, Steph Curry was killing the Cavs at home during the first two games. Of course, Kevin Durant went off in Game 3 with Lebron calling him an assassin. With the Golden State, when they’re all healthy you can’t stop or contain all three of their scorers. Throughout the playoffs, we have seen Steph, KD and Klay have great games. The return of Andre Iguodala, plus JaVale McGee and Shawn Livingston giving them good minutes. Of course, we haven’t mentioned the effect of the game from a defensive standpoint from Draymond Green. You also have to factor in that Durant plays well in Cleveland, so I expect him to have another great game. For some reason, Steph will probably continue to struggle, and Klay won’t have a dominant game either. Can the Warriors finish off the Cavs on their homecourt? Once again, I’m riding the Cavs to win.

Cleveland Forces Game 5 After Escaping with Game 4 Win

Are you ready for Game 4 between the Cavs and Warriors? Will the Warriors finish off the Cavs tonight? Or will the Cavs force a Game 5 with a win over the Warriors? Who do you want to win this game? Leave a comment below about anything related to the Finals or these two teams.